The Glue That Hold Us Together
by Sketchywrites
Summary: This is a series of short stories mainly surrounding the RED Scout, focusing mainly on why he acts the way he does, some of the darker parts of his job, and team bonding. Comments and constructive criticism is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Jeremy was 18 when he first signed up to be apart of Mann Co. The ad was small in the newspaper with the other job offers, but he managed to catch it since the wording was much simpler than most of the others. All the ad stated was that they needed someone who could run fast, hit hard, and take a punch, which was right up his ally. He sent in a crappily handwritten resume and got an almost instant reply of "you're hired!"

When the day came for him to actually fly to Teufort, he began to second-guess the legitimacy of the job as he looked at the severely questionable plane that was set to be his assigned transport. Luckily, all it took was one look at the sum that he was going to be making every month for him to scramble up the steps and into his seat. It was there on the plane that Jeremy's life changed. The man on the plane had given him a debriefing on his new job and how it contained dying, fighting, and coming back to life thanks to a mysterious contraption known only as "Respawn".

"So lemme get this straight," Jeremy said as he shifted in his seat, "I'm getting paid to kill people, but nobody actually dies because of some mysterious technology that brings us back to life?"

"That is correct," the man replied. "As long as you are part of the team and are in the range, you will remain in respawn and won't have to worry about dying." Jeremy sat back in his seat and grinned as a new realization hit him.

"I'm gonna be freakin' invincible!" Jeremy exclaimed. He unintentionally tuned out the rest of the man's words as the plane made its way to the destination.

When the plane landed, Jeremy dashed out of the plane; he was ready to be on the ground since he wasn't able to do much on the small and sketchy plane. He dropped his one bag and stretched, and his back gave a few pops. He looked around at his new surroundings and smiled when he saw a group of a few other men standing around.

"Guess that's my team," Jeremy muttered to himself. With his bag back on his back, he made his way over to introduce himself. As he made his way over, his steps faltered slightly. There before him was one of the most intimidating men he had ever seen. He was head and shoulders over Jeremy and was easily as wide as three of Jeremy put together. He kept going and soon, the group turned to him when they noticed him. Jeremy kept a mental tally of who to watch out for. The big guy was definitely on his list, but he couldn't make good guesses on the others.

"Well hey there!" one man said as he made his way towards Jeremy. He was short, stout, and there was no doubt in Jeremy's mind that this man was from Texas. He had on cowboy boots, slacks with a button up shirt, and a ridiculously big ten-gallon cowboy hat. His accent was also thick with southern twang. The Texan extended his hand with a friendly smile. "I'm Dell Conagher, and you are?"

"Jeremy O'Brian," Jeremy said as they shook hands. "I'm guessing you're gonna be my teammate?" Jeremy was a little bit skeptical of what this guy could do, or if he could really hurt anybody. He seemed way too friendly to be a cold-blooded mercenary.

"What class are you gonna be?" Dell asked. Jeremy froze. Class? What did he mean by Class?

"I-err uhh..." Jeremy stuttered. "I definitely have a class name." He gave a nervous chuckle as a confused look spread across Dell's face.

"Are you sure you're in the right place son?" Dell crossed his arms and a darker expression took over the gentler one; Jeremy felt a shiver shoot up his spine as he caught a glimpse of the more dangerous side of the man before him. The other men turned to look at Jeremy as if he could be a potential threat.

"Excuse me, but this young… man will be your team's Scout," a voice said from being Jeremy. Everyone looked to see the man that had given the debriefing slowly making his way towards the group.

"Yeah!" Jeremy exclaimed. "What he said." Dell's face lit back up into the friendly Texan that Jeremy had first seen him as, and Dell clasped a hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"Well, why didn't ya say so? I was afraid for a second that you were some sort of intruder."

"If I may have your attention please," the man called loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "I am Mr. Spirit, and I'm the Administrator's assistant. I will be over seeing your team's needs and records through out the month. The more matches you win, the greater your rewards, but the more you lose, the more you will be punished. You have each been debriefed according to your class as to what your purpose in each match will be. If you weren't paying attention," he stopped to make eye contact with Jeremy as a semi-direct call out, "then I suppose you will have to figure everything out yourself." He waved the group as a sign to follow him, and the group gathered their things and silently trailed.

"It is my understanding, Mr. Mundy, that you are to be living in your van on the premises?" Mr. Spirit asked.

"That's right," one of the men said. Jeremy turned to see that the owner of the voice was a tall, lanky and scruffy looking man. He had on a hat that almost seemed like a thin cowboy hat, but one side was pinned up. A pair of aviators hid his eyes.

"Excellent," Mr. Spirit continued. "Your van is by the company vehicle. You all will be taking the company vehicle to and from the match sights, but today, you will just be driving to your base. The coordinates are in the dash screen, and it will tell you how to get there. A shipment of your weapons, uniforms, and as well as other necessities will be coming within the week." They stopped by a worn down van that had "RED Bread" faintly written on the side. Mr. Spirit pulled open the doors and Jeremy cringed.

"You expect all eight of us to be crammed in there?" He demanded.

"No, I expect all nine of you to fit in there," Mr. Spirit replied, not phased one bit. "Your ninth team mate will be in within the week as well. This concludes your debriefing." With a small nod, Mr. Spirit began to walk away but stopped abruptly and turned. "One last thing!" he exclaimed. "The Administrator asks that you refer to each other by your class names only. It's for safety purposes of course." With this last piece of information, he left the odd band of individuals to figure out their next steps.

"So…" Jeremy said, breaking the silence, "should we get introductions out of the way now or…" He kept trailing off, hoping that someone else would jump in, but when he figured out that no one was going to start, he decided to take the reigns. "All right then, I'm Jeremy and your Scout." He waited for a response, but all he got was a few nods.

"I'm Dell Conagher, and I'll be your y'alls Engineer." That got the ball rolling. Each man said either their name and class or just their class, but eventually, the introductions were finished. With that, five members of the group crawled into the back of the bread van, two sat in the front, and the gangly Australian got behind the steering wheel of his beat up van. Jeremy crossed his arms, and tried not to pout. He had specifically called shotgun, but the one guy who would only introduce himself as Spy, pushed him out of the way and took the seat for himself.

For the most part, the trip was silent. Jeremy had tried to start a few conversations a couple of times, but he quickly got the hint that most of them were not in the mood for chitchat. The big guy, who introduced himself as the Heavy Weapons Guy, silently drove along, while Spy smoked with the cigarette smoke flying out the open door and yet still somehow lingering in the air.

By the time the semi-drunk, one eyed, black, Scotsman, whose class was the Demoman, was completely passed out, the van stopped, and the engine shut off. The Heavy Weapons Guy pulled back the curtain and said, "Are here. Wake up Demo." Jeremy nudged the snoring man with his foot, but he didn't stir. The man sitting across from Jeremy stood up and took a deep breath.

"GET UP YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOT! WE ARE AT OUR DESTINATION, AND I WILL NOT TOLERRATE LAZINESS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" The men flinched at the sheer volume that the one who was the Soldier class could scream at, but it did the job. The Demoman shot up in confusing and perhaps a little bit of fear.

"All right all right!" he cried as he stood up. "No need tah' get fussy now!" Soldier said a few more things, but Jeremy purposefully tuned him out as he gratefully jumped out of the back and onto the rock ground. The heat hit him, and he could feel himself start to sweat after just a few seconds. He looked up to take in his new home, but all he saw was a few buildings that all looked like worn down warehouses.

"Is this it?" Jeremy asked out loud. With how well the job paid, he was expecting… at least a little bit more than this.

"Aye laddie," Demoman said as he clasped a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "You're lookin' at your new home fer at least a few years." He gave a hardly laugh and turned to grab his belongings. Jeremy turned to see that the rest of the group had around two bags at the least. He tried to stop being self conscious of the small bag on his back, but it was a little harder to shrug it off than he thought.

" _This is why I'm here,_ " Jeremy thought as he followed the Engineer to the front door. " _I'll be able to afford plenty of things even after I send money to Ma._ " The Engineer pushed the front door open, and they walked into almost pure darkness. They fumbled for a few seconds as they looked for a light switch, but there was a small click, and the harsh florescent lights sprung to life. The main room was fairly large, yet empty. There was a small TV on a thin table with a worn down couch with a small area rug beneath the two pieces of furniture. The rest of the room was empty. To the right was the kitchen. This area was the odd one out since it was a dingy yellow and not grey and red. There were some basic kitchen appliances and a large wooden table with nine seats.

Jeremy migrated over to the hall that was to the left of the room to find a long hall with bedrooms on each side with a communal bathroom at the end of the hall. It didn't faze him that much. He was used to sharing small quarters with a bunch of others, so in this case, there were actually some upgrades.

"Hey Scout!" Engineer called. Jeremy had to think for a minute before remembering that _he_ was the Scout. He was no longer Jeremy; he was now the Scout.

"Coming!" he called, walking to the main area. Everyone was standing in a small group with their bags.

"So," Engineer started, "we're all adults here, so I'm sure that we can all just pick a room civilly, but you ain't sleepin' in here are you Sniper?" The Australian just shook his head. "Well then, I suppose just pick your rooms and get settled. We can discuss dinner, rules, chores, and other things later. Sound good?"

"Actually," the Medic chimed in, "zhere is a room in zhe infirmary, so I vill not be staying in zhis hall as vell." The man was very clearly German, and Scout just now noticed the small white dove sitting happily on the man's shoulder.

"Alright, then I guess that settles that," Engineer said. "Go pick your rooms." Scout dashed to the hall, unable to contain his excitement at the prospect of his own room. He quickly ran into the first room on his right and stood in the middle, taking in the fact that he wasn't going to have to share his room with anybody.

"Is this your room lad?" the Scot asked from the doorway.

"Uh, yeah," Scout replied. "Sorry, just wanted to hurry and, uh, get settled in, ya know."

"Aye," Demoman said with a smile. "Well, I'm just lettin' ya know that I'm gonna be takin' the room next to ya. So don't be alarmed if you hear a few bumps in tah' night."

"I'll keep that in mind." when Demoman left, Scout walked over, gently shut the door, and grinned. This was his room. He didn't have to worry about the others barging in on him or worry about someone pulling pranks on him in the middle of the night. He threw his bag on his bed and looked around. There was a dresser, a small desk, a small bookcase, a closet, a bed, and a mirror. He shoved what few clothes he had in the dresser, put his lucky ball cap on the headboard of the bed, placed his baseball glove and ball on the bookshelf as well as his baseball cards, and he pulled out a framed photo and looked at it for a second. It was him, his Ma, and all seven of his brothers.

"Look at me guys, " he whispered. "I get my own room and everything! Can you believe it?" he turned and gently placed it on the desk. "Don't worry guys. I'll make you proud."

For dinner, the group decided on sandwiches, mainly because that was one of the few things in the fridge that didn't take a whole lot of prep or time. Of course, the Engineer suggested they all eat dinner together, but the Sniper left to eat in his van, and the Medic took his sandwich to the infirmary since he said still had much to do. The rest of the party stayed and ate their food in comfortable silence. Or, at least, they tried to. Scout began to talk, mainly to fill the silence that he felt was uncomfortable, but once he figured out that they weren't going to cut him off or tell him to shut up, he just kept talking. Living with seven older brothers meant there were days he rarely ever got to speak, and now he was with a group of people who didn't care. So he didn't shut up; he just kept going. Since none of them knew him that well, he decided to stretch the truth just enough to make him look at least a little bit cooler.

When he finished his third sandwich- he hadn't eaten all day- he excused himself and went to get ready for bed. He quickly took a shower, and flopped on his bad, still slightly damp, and smiled. This was his new life; his own room, a good paying job, and being able to talk however much he wanted was a dream come true. As he dug himself under the covers, he wished his picture goodnight and fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Scout shot out from underneath his covers, his arms flailing and legs kicking as he tried to untangle himself from the sheets. He was panting with a layer of sweat covering most of his body, and his eyes scanned the room, looking for any abnormalities. His heart rate began to slow, and he tried to relax as he took deep breaths.

" _It was just a dream_ ," he reminded himself as flashes of his nightmare continued to play in his mind. He glanced at his clock. 3:32 am. Scout let out another groan and flopped back down, knowing full well that he would not be getting anymore sleep before he needed to wake up in two hours. He had never had nightmares before this job, but the constant dying and high stress situations made it difficult to unwind after work. He knew he was going to be placed in the exact same situation the next day and the day after that.

Scout had assumed that the nightmares would stop eventually, but they were in their fourth month, and exhaustion was starting to take its toll on him and his work. His footing had been less certain, leading to more tumbles and sprains, and his mind wasn't the sharpest, seeing that he almost delivered the intel to the wrong base after getting turned around. The sprains were worse though.

When the group had first started, their Medic had been semi-diligent about healing everyone as much as he could, but the more people let him die or called for more minor things, they found him staying with the Heavy more and more. Sprains left Scout a wounded doe to blow up, stab, shoot, and just about anything else; in basic terms, he was the perfect target for the BLU team. He shuttered as he remembered the gleeful giggles of the BLU Pyro as the flames engulfed him and sent him back to respawn.

Respawn did its best to remove the memory of them actually dying, but the memories weren't so much erased so much as just repressed. This left his mind to easily replay the day's event with every bit of pain in his dreams. He rubbed his face and tried not to let the tears in his eyes fall. He was so tired, but he had no idea what to do. He had tried to pay attention to the others, but all of them hadn't changed a bit since he had first met them. He wasn't sure if it was because they were all mercenaries before this or if he just couldn't tell with how he couldn't think straight, but in either case, he felt like he couldn't tell anyone. The others were already too soft on him or just didn't think he was capable of much, and if he told them what was going on, he would never get the respect he deserved.

"I'm not a kid," Scout whispered to himself as he tucked himself underneath his blanket and tried to at least doze before work started.

Scout slammed the door to his room shut and chunked his cap against the wall in anger. He was _this_ close to getting the briefcase back to his base, but he had to go into the wrong base and get killed in overtime. He was cursed at when he got back by most of his team; they had been in overtime for two extra hours, and he had gone and screwed it up. Only the Pyro didn't yell at him, but the Pyro mainly ignored him anyway.

Scout was tired, hungry, angry, and disgusting, but he didn't want to go take a shower with the others. He didn't want anymore ridicule; he just wanted sleep. Scout lay down on his bed, and he just began to drift off when a loud knocking woke him up, sending him sprawling on the floor.

"What do you want?" Scout snapped at his door.

"Is dinner time!" the Russian shouted. "Come to table when ready." Scout let out a swear when he stood up and got a whiff of himself. He was still in his work clothes that were caked with blood, dirt, and sweat. He quickly got changed and made his way to the kitchen, trying to wake up or look at least semi-decent, but it wasn't that much use.

Most of the others ignored him when he walked in, which was fine by him. He grabbed a plate, filled it up, and sat in his normal spot, except this time, he didn't start to shovel down his food and talk like he did every other time. This time, he just sat his head in his hand and tried to ignore the others. His pork chop sat in front of him, but he didn't do anything except flinch when the Medic's knife screeched against the plate. Soon, he dozed off.

Scout couldn't exactly tell you what his dream was about except that he was dying, and that's all it took. When the bullet pierced his head, he shot upwards and flung his arms out. He shot up a little bit took quickly and he found himself on the floor, blearily staring at the ceiling as a few of the others called his name.

"I'm fine! I'm fine," Scout said as he stood up. His arm was wet, and he tried to brush it off.

"Are you alright Scout?" Engineer asked worriedly.

"Uhh yeah," was all Scout could spit out. He was no longer firing on all cylinders, and all he could think about was the wet trickling on his arm.

"Scout, your arm…" Engineer trailed off as he tried to grab his napkin and dab at Scout's arm. Scout rubbed his face, and grimaced as the wet transferred from his hand to his face. He swore and looked down at his hand to find blood, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Why am I..?" Scout didn't get to finish his thought; Medic went over and started gently leading away from the table.

"Don't vorry, ve vill be back," Medic said reassuringly as he led the dazed Scout away from the table and towards the infirmary.

Medic quickly bandaged Scout's arm hand handed him a towel to wipe the blood from his hand and face. The two sat in silence until Scout decided to break it.

"So how did my arm get cut open?" Scout asked. Medic gave him a concerned glance before heading over to his cabinets.

"Vhen you jumped up screaming, you threw your arm right into Herr Engineer's knife. Did you honestly not notice zhe cut until ve said something?" Scout turned away; he was embarrassed and slightly ashamed. Scout, deciding that the doctor should be finished with him, started to hop of the table but stopped when the doctor hissed at him to not move. Medic came back holding two pill bottles.

"I believe zhat is it safe to assume zhat zhe reason you vere screaming vas from nightmares, ja?" Scout opened and closed his mouth to defend himself but came up empty. "Zhis medicine can help you vith zhat."

"It can?" Scout asked earnestly.

"Yes Scout, but I have just one question," Medic said. "Vhy didn't you say anything earlier? None of zhis vould have happened, and I'm fairly sure zhat your mess up today vouldn't have happened either." Scout sat there for a moment, hoping that Medic would let him off the hook, but the doctor's steely gaze eventually broke him down.

"I was afraid you guys would think less of me," Scout muttered. He glanced up at Medic who stood over him with his eyebrows furrowed. Scout felt the words begin to tumble out of his mouth before he could catch them. "It's just you guys always treat me like I'm a kid and that I can't handle anything! So, I felt like if I told you guys that I couldn't handle some stupid dreams, you guys would never take me seriously again. I mean, they're just dreams, but they still keep me from sleepin', and now I feel stupid, and you probably think that I'm just some dumb kid who cant handle the job, but I can! I just-"

"Scout!" Medic exclaimed and grabbed Scout's shoulders. Tears were staring to fall from Scout's eyes, and he could feel himself getting more and more ashamed by the second. "Scout, listen to me," Medic said, looking dead into Scout's eyes. "Zhis is nothing to be ashamed of. You do realize all but three of us are on zhe medication, right?" Scout's stunned silence was enough to answer the question. Medic sighed and let his hands fall to his sides. "You, Soldier, and Pyro are the only three not on zhe medication. Soldier von't take medicine, and Pyro is fairly self-explanatory. Vhen everyone else came to me for help, I zhought about checking on you, but you seemed to be fine. I vas a bit vorried vhen I saw how young you vere, err, are, but you put on a good front. I let you be, and now I see that I vas wrong, and I do apologize." Scout hung his head and thought about what Medic said.

"So this whole time, I coulda just come to you, and you wouldn't have told no one?" Scout asked.

"Scout, I am a doctor as vell as your teammate," Medic explained. "I have seen and helped people with much vorse and veirder zhings. You don't have to vorry. But, I cannot help you unless you tell me."

"I know," Scout sighed. "So what's the other pill bottle?"

"Sleeping pills," Medic said. "But don't take it unless you're right next to your bed. They are incredibly potent." Scout stood up and took the bottles from Medic's hands.

"Thanks doc," Scout said while smiling.

"Promise me zhat if something starts going wrong, you'll let me know, so zhat ve can avoid little events like today," Medic stated bluntly.

"I promise doc, but I think I'm just gonna go to bed now." Medic gave a small nod and gave a small smile. With that, Scout walked back to his room.

Medic sat down in his seat by Heavy; most of the team had already finished their dinner and were in the middle of clean up.

"How's the lad?" Demo asked as he washed his plate off.

"I vas right about him being too stressed," Medic replied as he took a bite of his cold mash potatoes and cringed. "I gave him some medicine and talked to him." As he stood up to go warm up his food, Scout walked in and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. He popped something in his mouth, took a swig of water, and gave a call of 'goodnight' as he walked out the door.

"Vas that the medicine I gave you?" Medic called after him. There was a 'yes' heard from the living room and Medic sighed. "Funf, vier, drei, zwei, eins," Medic counted before there was a dull thud from the common room. "I varned him."

"I'll take him to bed," Engineer said as he walked out of the kitchen. He looked to see Scout was out cold on the ground by the TV. Engineer scooped him up and carried him to his room.

After fumbling with the door and accidentally hitting Scout's head on the doorframe, he finally set the kid on his bed.

"Night kid," Engineer whispered as he turned off the light and shut the door. Scout didn't wake up until Soldier had to wake him up for work three days later.


	3. Chapter 3

Scout huffed as the flipped mindlessly through the channels on the TV. He'd been looking for ten minutes, but nothing had really caught his attention. It might help if they had more than six channels.

"Are ya alright lad?" Demo asked as he walked out of the kitchen. "You're not really even watchin' tah TV."

"I'm bored, but there ain't nothin' to do," Scout whined, sliding farther down in the couch. "There's nothin' on TV, we can't go into town, and there ain't anythin' else to do 'round here. Unless you wanna do somethin' with me."

"Sorry lad," Demo said apologetically, "Ah've got to work on me bombs. Ah feel like they could be better, but ah'm not really sure which direction ah should go in."

"Do you want some help?" Scout asked eagerly.

"Scout, this is dangerous stuff," Demo explained. "Trust meh on this one." Scout huffed again and crossed his arms, turning back to the TV and hoping that something good had turned on. "Scout, one accidental cross wire, one accidental bump, one wry smidge of potassium chloride and KABLOOEY!" Demo shouted the last word and threw his arms up for effect. "We'd be toast laddy."

"Alright, alright," Scout sighed. "I get it."

"Why don't you talk to Engie or somethin'?" Demo asked. Scout perked up and smiled.

"Great idea! Thanks Demo!" Demo smiled as he watched Scout jump up from the couch and head over to the workshop. He gave a small chuckle.

 _"He's Engie's problem now."_

"Hey Engie!" Scout yelled as he burst into the workshop. There was a harsh thud like someone's head hitting metal along with a few swears shortly after. Scout walked over to the other side of the large mess of metal scraps and blueprints to see the Engineer rubbing his head as he crawled away from a device that almost looked like a miniature gas pump. "Whatchya workin' on there?"

"Somethin' you ain't supposed to see yet," Engineer snapped. "What are you doin' in here? Didn't you see the 'do not disturb sign'?" Scout shrunk slightly and rubbed the back of his neck as he took a few steps back.

"I didn't pay attention," Scout sheepishly admitted. "Sorry." Engineer softened slightly and shook his head.

"It's okay, but you really shouldn't be in here," Engineer said as he rubbed the slightly growing welt on his head. "Shoulda kept the helmet on…" Scout averted his eyes to see Pyro happily colouring on the ground with a small pack of crayons.

"What about Pyro bein' in here?" Scout asked, mildly offended.

"Pyro's quiet, doesn't touch anythin', and he knows enough about tools to help me out at times," Engineer explained. "Ain't that right bud?" Pyro looked up from his drawing just enough to give a thumb's up before returning to colouring in more fire. "Now, why are ya in here?"

"There's nothin' to do, and there's no one to be around since you're obviously busy," Scout said as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was gonna see if you wanted to play catch or just talk, but I guess there's no point."

"Son, if you're trying to get me to feel pity for ya, it ain't gonna work." Scout swore under his breath as Engineer chuckled and turned to his latest invention. "Why don't ya ask Pyro if he wants to play catch or somethin'?" Scout turned to the flame happy man-child happily scribbling on the floor and cringed. "Either ask him or find somethin' else to do, because I'm gonna be busy for the rest of the day," Engineer continued as be messed with wires. Scout sighed and walked over to Pyro and gently nudged him with his foot.

"You wanna play catch with me Mumbles?" Scout asked. Pyro looked up and nodded enthusiastically, catching Scout off guard. "You will? Sweet! I'll go grab my glove and ball! Meet me out back!" Scout flashed him a big grin, but stopped when he looked down at Pyro's drawing. "What are ya drawing there bud?" Pyro gave some sad mumbles as he held up the two drawings. The first one showed the BLU Pyro blowing away the RED Soldier's rocket and blowing the Soldier up. The second picture showed Pyro getting blown up by the BLU Soldier.

"He's been havin' trouble with the BLU Soldier recently," Engie explained from across the room. "He says he's been tryin' to air blast the rockets away like the BLU Pyro is, but he can't quite get it down." Scout frowned for a second before he started smiling again.

"Maybe playing catch will take your mind of of it," Scout suggested. Pyro let out a mutter that sounded like 'maybe', but Scout took it as another yes and ran to his room to grab his glove.

When they were outside, Scout found an issue with their game of catch. He only had one glove. The two talked for a minute before they decided Pyro would throw the ball to Scout and Scout would roll the ball back. Scout ran backwards excitedly as he watched Pyro throw the ball... and have it go about three feet forward. They both stood there for a second as the ball rolled another inch or two before stopping. Scout took a deep breath. This was fine; all he had to do was teach Pyro how to throw. No big deal.

Twenty minutes later, they had made no progress. Both parties were frustrated, but both were too stubborn to quit.

"Listen, if you release here..." Scout said for the hundredth time while holding Pyro's arm in the correct position. Pyro tried to throw again, but he released too late. Again. Pyro began yelling in irritation before angrily picking up the ball off the ground and shoving it into Scout's hand. He gave the younger one a 'wait here' sign as he stalked off into the base. Scout stood there confused, until Pyro came back out with his flamethrower.

"Whoa there pally!" Scout exclaimed as he held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean to make you angry; I just-" Pyro cut him off as he muttered 'go long'.

"Go long?" Scout asked. "Pyro, you cant even-" He stopped as Pyro sternly pointed. With a heavy sigh, Scout ran a bit away before turning back to face Pyro. Pyro motioned for Scout to throw it, so Scout shrugged his shoulders and threw a higher ball to Pyro. He watched as Pyro planted his feet and readied his flamethrower. Scout paled as the thought of Pyro roasting his only ball flashed through his mind. However, as the ball neared Pyro, He pointed his Flamethrower up and Scout could hear the sound of the air-blast. Unfortunately, Pyro missed and the ball flew past him. Angry yet determined, Pyro grabbed the ball and tossed it just high enough for him to air-blast it back to Scout. However, the ball started to go past Scout, but Scout kicked it into high gear and caught the ball on the run. They stood there before letting out a few calls of celebration.

* * *

"That's how you do it bud!" Scout called. "Let's do that again!"

The two soon fell into a routine of their game of catch after work every few days. Scout was able to get pretty good at catching and throwing faster to give Pyro less time to react, and Pyro was getting better and better at air-blasting. It wasn't until a few weeks later during the middle of a match did the two realize just how important these sessions were.

It was overtime, and the RED team was desperate to keep the point. Scout, Pyro, Demo, and Medic were standing on the point as the BLUs rushed them. Time was ticking down, and all they needed to do was hold for these last few minutes. Just as a victory seemed immanent, there was a battle cry from above them. The BLU Soldier was falling towards them and had sent a rocket there way. Scout swore as the Rocket started heading straight towards him, but as he turned away to brace himself, Pyro jumped in front of him. There was the sound of an air-blast, and the Announcer yelled "Victory!" over the intercom as BLU Soldier bits rained on the small group. Pyro held his flamethrower above his head and laughed in triumph. The group cheered and congratulated Pyro right before they were pulled through Respawn and back to their lockers.

That night as the group ate dinner, Scout waved to Pyro as he went off to his room to eat.

"You two look like y'all've gotten along well," Engineer said as he sat down.

"Yeah," Scout said. "Mumbles is pretty cool."


	4. Chapter 4

Scout grabbed the pile of mail from the front door step and carried it inside. He had somehow become the designated person to pass out the mail every time it came in after their fights on Wednesdays. The rest of the team stood or sat in the common area as Scout pulled the first letters from the bundle.

"Snipes," Scout said as he held out the few envelopes. Sniper quickly took them and tore open the first letter from his mother. Scout continued to pass out the letters until just one small manilla envelope with his name on it remained. He smiled when he saw his mother's name on it. She always sent him letters, but packages were rare. He quickly tore open the top and let the contents slide out on his palm, and he froze.

"What did you get lad?" Demo asked as he walked over before his smile dropped.

"What's goin'..." Engineer began to ask before he trailed off as he realized what was in Scout's hands. Dog tags. Scout shoulders began to shake slightly, and Engineer reached out to console him. Scout yanked away from his touch and sprinted away, leaving the envelope on the floor.

"What was that?" Spy asked as he walked closer. He noticed the envelope on the floor and picked it up.

"He had dog tags, and I'm thinking that it was one of his brothers," Engineer explained. He took a few steps as if to follow him, but Demo caught the Engineer's shoulder.

"I think the poor boy needs some time to himself, don't ya think?" Demo suggested. "If he's not down for dinner, then we go after him." the group looked sadly at the hall Scout had run down before silently agreeing that some time alone was probably best for him.

When Scout failed to come down for dinner, Engineer looked around for him. When he finally found Scout on the roof, Scout shut him out and refused to leave, the dog tags still tightly clutched in his fist.

"Come on son!" Engineer called as he pushed on the door. He swore when he realized Scout had shoved a crate in front of it, preventing anyone from opening it.

"I said I don't want to talk to you right now!" Scout yelled back, his voice cracking slightly. Engineer sighed, and he walked back down to the dinner table where the others were sitting.

"Scout's not bein' that cooperative right now," Engineer explained. "He doesn't want to talk to me at the moment."

"Then we bust the door down and force him down here!' Soldier said as he slammed down his fist.

"I do not think that that is the best idea Soldier," Heavy said with a sigh. "Scout just lost a family member, and we need to be gentle."

"Vell if he won't listen to Engineer, who vill he listen to?" Medic asked.

"I will talk to him," Spy said bluntly. Engineer let out a small bark of laughter as Spy stood up.

"You think he's gonna listen to you?" Engineer asked with a slightly bitter tone. "You sure are picking a convenient to be a dad, ain't you?" The room fell deathly silent. Everyone knew that Spy was the Scout's father, but Scout was the only one who didn't really know. The group figured he had his suspicions, but he refused to accept them.

"I am merely trying to be cordial," Spy said as he straightened his tie and pulled the envelope from his pocket. "Besides, his mother's handwriting isn't as pristine as it normally is." With that, he walked out of the kitchen and towards the roof.

Spy knocked on the door only to have Scout yell at him to leave him alone in a rather crude way.

"I am not the Engineer Scout," Spy said.

"I don't care!" Scout yelled back. Spy rolled his eyes and straightened the note that was left in the envelope.

"Then I'm assuming that you do not wish to read the letter your mother wrote?" Spy asked. There was silence for a second before he could hear Scout shove the crate out of the way. He opened the door before Scout had a chance to and strolled out onto the roof. Scout growled and slammed the door shut.

"What do you want Spy?" Scout spat as he crossed his arms. Spy looked over to see a rather sad sight. Scout looked disheveled and his eyes were puffy and red from the hours spent crying. The dog tags were still in his hand. He wordlessly held out the letter, and Scout seemed to calm down slightly. He took the letter and sat down on one of the boxes. Spy leaned against the door and smoked as he watched Scout slowly decipher his mother's shaky handwriting.

"Funeral's this weekend," Scout said after a while, breaking the silence. "You going?"

"Oui," Spy replied as he blew out the cigarette smoke. "I will be there to comfort your mother. After all, what kind of a lover would I be if I wasn't there in her time of need?"

"Thanks for bringing the letter," Scout said. "You can leave now." Spy took a long drag as he thought about his options.

"I don't believe I will," he stated after a moment.

"Why not?" Scout asked, half annoyed, half confused.

"If you do anything stupid, the Laborer will have my head," Spy explained. "Also, it's dinner time, and I'm not going back empty handed." The two didn't talk for a few more minutes before Spy walked over and offered Scout a cigarette. Scout hesitantly accepted it, and soon they were both smoking in silence.

"Don't tell your mother or Engineer I let you smoke," Spy said after a minute. Scout chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"You do know I smoke right?" Scout asked as he flick ash away.

"Yes, but they would probably both kill me if I had any direct cause to you smoking," Spy explained.

"Probably Engineer more than Ma," Scout said.

"Really?"

"Yep. Ma knows I smoke, but I don't know if Engie knows I smoke regularly," Scout explained. "I typically smoke up here when I can't sleep. I guess I'm gonna be up here a bit more than normal for a bit." There was more silence before Spy had an idea.

"Tell me about him." Scout looked at him confused as he stomped on the butt of the cigarette.

"Engie?" Scout asked. Spy rolled his eyes and offered another cigarette.

"Non," Spy said. "I was talking about your brother."

"Oh," Scout said as he accepted Spy's offering. He looked down at the dog tags and frowned. "Jacob and I were close. He was two years older than me since Percy came before me." Scout looked up and smiled. The sun was starting to go down. "Jacob and I always got into trouble. He and I one time found an old barn, and we climbed into it ya know? Anyways, it was older than we thought and we both fell through the second floor into some rotten hay. We were lucky neither one got hurt." Tears began to spill from Scout's eyes, and he desperately wiped them away. "He helped me get over Willow when we broke up by- get this- stealing eggs from the store and hiding them in her room when they were gone for a trip. When they got back, the eggs were bad and they almost moved because the smell was so bad." Scout started to laugh at the story, but he soon burst into tears. Spy gently patted Scout on the back as the young man tried to calm down. "Don't tell anyone about me crying," Scout said shakily as he calmed down.

"My lips are sealed," Spy said.

"Why are you doing this Spy?" Scout asked. Spy raised an eyebrow, and Scout continued, "Why are you trying to console me or whatever? You're being nice, which is kinda suspicious." Spy took a long drag and stared at the sunset as he thought of an answer.

"Loss of a loved one can be tough," Spy finally replied. "Even if we don't get along all the time, we are still teammates." Scout only nodded his head as he absorbed the reply. "Did Jacob want to be in the military?"

"Oh yeah he did," Scout said. "He signed up as soon as he could unlike Henry."

"Henry?"

"Henry is my second oldest brother," Scout explained. "He was totally against the war, but he got drafted. I hope he's doing ok."

"Did you get into any trouble with him?" Spy asked. There was a gleam in Scout's eye, and he began telling stories about all the fights and shenanigans that they got into.

By the time they were finished, two hours had passed, and they were both surprised no one else had come up to check on them. They eventually went downstairs and reheated the stew before eating. Scout took a deep breath as he placed the dog tags around his neck, and Spy gave him one last pat on the shoulder before heading off to his room.

"Hey Spy!" Scout called right before Spy disappeared from sight. Spy stopped and turned around. "Thanks... for everything," Scout said sheepishly. Spy gave a small smile and a nod before fully disappearing.


	5. Chapter 5

Scout took a swig of his beer and looked into the blazing fire that Pyro built. He was sitting on the ground with his back against a log that Engie was sitting on. All but one of the RED team was sitting around the fire with a drink in hand and a little too much alcohol in their system. Spy stood in the shadows, smoking and completely sober. None of the others had ever seen him get drunk, but they all assumed it was so he didn't let anything slip about him or anything he knew.

"Hey Spy!" Scout yelled. "Come on and join us! It's fun!" Spy didn't move.

"Come on Spook!" Sniper exclaimed. "Come be part of the team!" Soon the whole group was shouting for him to join the rest, and Spy eventually gave in and sat by the Sniper. He was slightly uncomfortable, but he seemed to relax when the rest of the team focused on Pyro throwing cup fulls of gasoline into the fire. The fire spiked with each cup of fuel, pleasantly singing the hair on Scout's face.

"Okay guys," Scout said as he sat up a little straighter. "I think it's time for the question of the night." The men perked up at that. On Friday nights when they had a majority of the wins for the week, they always had a bonfire. Whenever the men were slightly buzzed but still were able to think somewhat clearly, Scout would always come up with a question for them all to answer. It gave them a way to bond as a team and to start conversations that could last for hours. The last time Scout asked a question about their childhood pets, they got into a debate on what breed of dog was the best.

"Well spit it out!" Soldier said excitedly. He was almost always able to tell a story for at least ten minutes with the questions that Scout had.

"I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin', hold on!" Scout pleaded as he fixed his dog tags. "Ok, what were your first kills? Like, what was your first ever kill?" The group was silent as they thought.

"My first kill was when I was deployed to Germany where I killed Nazi scum!" Soldier yelled with a wave of his beer. "You see I-" Demo cut him off before he could go into a long tangent.

"Solly, you've told us this story a million times," Demo said with a drunken smile. "Let someone else have a go at tellin' us aboot their kills."

"Alright then," Soldier replied with a smile. "You go first." Demo thought for a moment before taking a swig and staring into the fire.

"I accidentally killed my parents when I was a wee boy," Demo said sadly. The group tensed as they looked at Demoman. Even Pyro looked away from the fire. "Six tah be exact. They were nice people, but they got too close when I was tryin' tah blow up Nessie."

"Who's Nessie?" Soldier asked.

"The Loch ness Monster Sol," Demo explained. The group went silent until most people looked at the Heavy.

"I killed a man in the Gulag," Heavy stated matter-of-factly. "Is all you need to know. Doctor?" Everybody knew that if Heavy said that it was end of the discussion, you did not press further. Instead, everyone looked to the Medic who was the second heaviest drinker behind the Demo himself. Medic seemed to be in deep thought before he smiled and giggled.

"I accidentally may have killed a frauline vhen I vas in my... third, maybe fourth surgery," Medic said as he tapped his chin in thought. "In reality, it vas not _solely_ my fault, but it vas partial."

"Care to elaborate Doc?" Engineer asked.

"Vell, it vas one of my first surgeries," Medic explained. "I vasn't doing the main part of the surgery, but I vas helping. The patient vas a younger girl who had been hit head on by a semi. The truck driver had dozed you see and veered off his side of the road. Anyvays, she vas in critical condition, vhen out of novhere, she caught on fire."

"No way!" Scout shouted. "People don't just burst into flames for no reason!"

"Actually," Medic said with a gleam in his eye, "zhey do! It's called spontaneous combustion syndrome! But, zhat is beside zhe point. My main point vas that a surgical fire had erupted in the patient's chest!"

"How did the fire start?" Sniper asked, a little bit freaked out.

"More than likely it was too much oxygen, but zhere's no way that we can ever know for sure," Medic said. "I vas not the most fluent English speaker at the time, and we all panicked since we had never seen anyzhing like it. By the time ve got the fire out, zhere vas irrefutable damage, and zhe poor girl died."

"Did you ever get into trouble?" Spy asked as he tapped ash off his cigarette.

"Nein," Medic replied. Ve passed it off on her injuries and walked off to zhe next patient." The group sat in slight shock as the story truly set in. The silence drew out a little too long for the Engineer's taste, and he broke the tension.

"I definitely don't have a story like that," Engineer said softly.

"I assume that your first kills were here, non?" Spy asked.

"Actually, I killed a home invader when I was... twenty four or twenty five I think," Engineer explained as he took a drink of his beer. "Didn't get into trouble since it was considered self defense. Slim? You gotta story?"

"Naw," Sniper said. "Just killed a guy for cheating on his wife. She payed me, and I took him out without a hitch. What about you Spook?"

"Classified," Spy stated, monotone. Scout rolled his eyes and finished his beer. Spy never answered any questions. Neither did Pyro, but that was for obvious different reasons. The team looked over to Scout for him to finish up the question of the night.

"I'd bet money that yours was here," Engineer said.

"And you'd lose that bet," Scout muttered. The group gave him a confused look as he sat up a little bit more. "You see, I- er- wait... I think you need a little back story. You see, me and my brothers were a group. We got into trouble, ya know. We'd get into some fight, a little bit of trouble here and there, not a big deal yeah? Well there was another group of boys. They were known for getting into some bad stuff man, like real bad. Well, we were about to start a fight with them, or ,well, really them fightin' with us because they beat up my brother William. My brother could fight, even if he was a soft hearted dweeb, you know, 'cause he was with us. Even so, eight against one was not a fair fight. He was roughed up pretty bad, and we got pissed, like bad pissed.

"We challenged them to a fight on a Friday night when we would normally play baseball. It was supposed to be a fistfight meaning no weapons, but when we all showed up, they had all kinds of things. They had lead pipes, a crowbar, a pipe wrench- keep that one in mind-, and a bat I think. Well, that made us even more pissed, but we weren't gonna mess with people who had weapons, 'cause that was dumb. However, as we were walking away one of the boys attacked my brother Vinny from behind, and all hell broke loose." Scout took a deep breath and glanced at the rest of the men. They all seemed to still be interested in what he had to say, which was a good sign and a confidence booster.

"So, we turned and fought them as hard as we could. At one point though, I got the pipe wrench. I look over by a trash can and I see a kid wailing on William and I lose it. With anger and strength I didn't know I had, I hit the kid as hard as I could with it. The kid went down like a sack of potatoes, and I was so focused on my brother that I didn't even notice the blood. The other group ran, and we went and played a small round of baseball before heading home.

"The next day, turns out that the kid I hit was dead. Blunt force trauma to the head. The group tried to pin it on us, but things played out in our favor. The pipe was found in the home of one of the boy's homes, a few people knew we always go to the fields after school and saw us there- even if it was later than normal-, and the police already had a history with those boys.

"Needless to say, we never had an issue with those boys again now that one was dead and another was convicted of the murder. The family of the boy that died moved away, and I honestly pushed the whole incident away until just now. I don't think any of my brothers know I did it either."

"How old were you?' Heavy asked.

"Twelve," Scout replied. A few men winced slightly, but most just stared at the fire.

A few minutes later, a few of them went off to head to bed, and soon the whole group had left, save Pyro who was unhappily putting out the fire.

As Scout walked to his room after brushing his teeth, he heard a voice from the darkness say, "Ten." Scout jumped and spun around to see Spy leaning against the wall by his door.

"Holy crap man, ya scared me," Scout said as he put a hand to his heart. "What did you say?"

"I killed my first man when I was ten years old," Spy said. He shifted uncomfortably before beginning to leave. Scout grabbed Spy's arm, but Spy didn't turn to Scout when he stopped.

"You didn't have to tell me that you know," Scout said.

"I know," Spy muttered before pulling away and fading into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

Scout winced as Soldier threw up in the makeshift puke bucket by his bed. Scout was holding a bowl of soup for Soldier, but it seemed that that was going to be put on hold for a while.

"There there bud," Scout muttered as he patted Soldier on the back. "Just let it all out so we can get this soup down ya."

"I do not need to be babied," Soldier huffed in between puking. Scout rolled his eyes and placed the soup on the nightstand.

"Fine, have it your way," Scout said. "There's plenty other sick people I can help with." That statement was much more true than Scout wanted to admit.

It all started about one week prior to the current situation. The whole team, save Sniper, had been eating dinner and chatting like normal. Once Sniper's absence had been noted, Engineer went to his van to find the Australian sick as a dog. He was moved to the infirmary to get better faster, but that didn't happen. The next day, both Demo and Engineer were sick, and soon after that came Pyro, Soldier, and Spy. Even Medic fell to the sickness not long after the others. This left Scout and Heavy to watch the whole team, and now that they were on day five of pretty much the whole team being sick, they had fallen into a steady routine.

They would wake up and get everyone to the bathroom and get them food, water, and medication. Then it was just keep puke buckets empty, make sure no one was dead or dying, and just mainly take care of them. Scout was on food and drink duty while Heavy cleaned the buckets. At the moment, Scout was almost done with his rounds of serving chicken broth to everyone. All he had left was Pyro and Medic.

Scout never actually took care of Pyro; he just mainly left food and drink outside of the door and picked up any dishes later. Medic, however, was still trying to help take care of people, but both Scout and Heavy had to fight to keep him in bed. Eventually, they caved and let Medic take care of Sniper, who was almost completely unconscious most of the time and was reliant on IVs.

Scout walked into the infirmary and immediately groaned. Medic was flush with fever and wrapped in a blanket while he hunched over his desk and worked on papers. Scout scowled and grabbed Medic by the arm, and Medic looked up, slightly confused.

"Oh, hallo Scout," Medic said sheepishly. "I vas just-"

"I don't care what you were doin' doc," Scout sighed as he pulled Medic away from his desk and towards his room that was connected to the infirmary. "You're supposed to be resting, and doing paper stuff is the exact opposite."

"I know, but I feel so behind on my vork, and it's so boring being sick," Medic semi-whined. "I should be working on somezhing to make us feel better or-" He was cut off by a violent coughing fit as Scout helped him into bed. "On second zhought, I'm tired."

"Well, you should be," Scout said, pulling up blankets. "The faster you get better, the faster you can get back to work, ok?' There was only a tired groan from the lump beneath the covers. Scout grabbed the bowl of soup for his makeshift trolly and placed it on Medic's night stand next to a bottle of water.

"I'm sick of chicken," Medic groaned, muffled by the blanket pulled over his head.

"And I'm sick of your whining," Scout said as he turned out the light and walked out of the room. Before Scout left the infirmary, he stopped by Sniper's bed. He was sickly pale and covered in sweat. If it weren't for the heart and breathing monitor, Scout would almost presume the poor guy was dead. A chart hung at the foot of the bed and Scout skimmed over it, seeing that most of it was medical terms. Scout cringed as he read how high Sniper's fever had been; it was consistently hovering between 103 and 104. Scout gave one last look at Sniper before he rolled his cart back to the kitchen.

Heavy was washing his hands when Scout walked in. A pot sat on the stove, and a few pieces of chicken sat on a pan on the counter.

"Ah, there you are," Heavy said with a smile. "Come. I made dinner."

"Sweet," Scout responded as he too walked over to the sink to wash his hands, albeit a bit more vigorously than Heavy. "What is it? I'm starvin'."

"Chicken with rice seeing that is pretty much all we have," Heavy said, dishing up plates for the two of them. "The next food shipment comes next week, so we have to finish up what little we have." Scout had no complaints as he eagerly took the plate from Heavy and began scarfing food before he sat down.

The two ate in comfortable silence, but Scout finished long before Heavy did and merely sat in his chair. Heavy glanced up and chuckled as he watched Scout begin to drift off. Scout's head slowly slipped farther and farther to the side before he snapped up, somewhat awake.

"You seem tired," Heavy pointed out. "You should go to bed. I can clean."

"No way man," Scout replied as he picked up his plate to wash it off. "It's not that late. Besides, I've been going to bed pretty early these last few days, and I want to do something with my time, ya know?"

"How about a game of chess?" Heavy asked. Scout gave him a quizzical look.

"Isn't chess kinda a... really smart person game?" Scout asked. "Not that I ain't smart, but chess is like, a _really_ smart person game. You know, like Doc or Engie."

"I play chess with Soldier," Heavy pointed out. "Is he really smart?" Scout stood still for a moment and pursed his lips in thought.

"He don't count because he's... well, he's Soldier," Scout stated after a moment. "You never know what you're gonna get with that guy."

"At least try Scout," Heavy insisted. "Worst that could happen is you lose." Scout threw his hands up in defeat.

"Alright, you win," Scout said. "But you're gonna halfta teach me."

Heavy slid a piece of paper to Scout with the names of the pieces and the directions that they could move. Scout stared at the letters and mentally swore. Heavy's handwriting was almost impossible to decipher, at least to him. Heavy noticed how Scout was struggling and took the paper back, and he began to draw the tops of each piece by the move set. Once he finished with that, he slid the paper back to Scout who sighed with relief when he saw he could easily understand it.

"Thanks," Scout said softly.

"Of course," Heavy replied. "Nothing to be ashamed of." Scout only quirked an eyebrow at Heavy before looking back at his new cheat sheet. "You have issues reading words. I used to have problem as well." Scout scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Ain't you got like some fancy degree in literature?' Scout asked.

"Da, but that does not mean reading came easily to me," Heavy said. "When I first started English-"

"Your- what- third language?" Scout said, cutting Heavy off. "I barely know my birth language and reading it sucks. It's part of the reason why I'm here."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Scout replied. "We gonna start this thing or what?" Heavy nodded, dropping Scout's offhanded comment, and made his first move.

Three games later, Scout stared at the board with pure concentration. He picked up his piece and said "Check," with a grin. Heavy quickly moved his piece and responded with a "Checkmate." Scout groaned and slammed his fist down, shaking the pieces slightly.

"You are doing much better," Heavy replied. He went to reset the board before Scout grabbed his hand.

"That ain't checkmate," Scout said as he pointed with his free hand. "I can move here." Heavy looked at the pieces before pulling his hand back to let Scout make his move.

"Good catch Scout," Heavy said happily. "You've gott-"

"Checkmate," Scout muttered in shock. Heavy gave him a doubting look before scanning the board. "That's checkmate Heavy." Scout was practically vibrating in his seat as Heavy continued to look. Heavy smiled and gave a booming laugh.

"Well done Scout," Heavy said as he extended his hand. Scout wasn't paying attention and shot up out of his seat, letting out a little victory cry. There was a hiss from across the room, and both Heavy and Scout turned to see Spy bundled up, heading towards the bathrooms.

"Sorry Spy," Scout said sheepishly. "I just beat Heavy at chess, and I don't think he let me win either." Spy muttered something in French before continuing to shuffle away. Scout looked over at Heavy with a puzzled look, but Heavy only gave him a shrug in return.

"Spy has been more sick than others," Heavy said. "Higher fevers and more... what is word... night terror, but not asleep..."

"Hallucinations?' Scout asked.

"I think," Heavy said, putting up the chess set. "He mostly speaks in French when I help him. Unsure what he is saying." Heavy glanced at the clock. "Time for bed. It is late."

"Alright," Scout responded, not really paying attention. "Night." Heavy walked past him and headed off to his room. Scout waited until he saw Spy shuffle back to his room before, he too, decided to go to bed.

Scout pulled down beef broth from the cabinet and sighed. Looks like this was what the guys were getting for lunch. Heavy walked in and washed his hands before opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Beef broth can help sick people too, yeah?" Scout asked. Heavy thought a moment before giving a shrug.

"More than likely," Heavy said. "Is broth." Scout sighed and began making lunch, an odd feeling pricking at the back of his mind. He hoped he wasn't getting sick, but he was fairly sure that it wasn't that. The odd feeling stuck with his as he made his rounds for lunch, but the feeling intensified when he walked into Spy's room. Spy looked at him and gave a smile that Scout had never seen from him. Spy said some things in French, but Scout couldn't understand him.

"Any way you could speak English?' Scout asked, not really expecting a reply.

"Of course Alice," Spy responded softly. Scout's eyebrows furrowed.

"Alice?"

"Yes you," Spy said with a giggle. Scout stared at Spy before remembering what Heavy said the night before.

"I have your soup, but do ya need anything else?" Scout asked, unsure of how to snap Spy out of a fever hallucination.

"Non, but thank you Cacahuéte," Spy said as he tried to sit up. "You always know how to take care of me." Scout wasn't sure how to respond, but the nagging feeling in the back of his mind was getting worse. Did Spy make this 'Alice' up, or was something else going on? "What is wrong Alice?"

"Nothing," Scout said, a little too fast. "Just eat your soup, ok?" Spy gave him a sad look before grabbing his bowl.

"You can always talk to me you know," Spy said softly.

"Yeah, just get some rest," Scout said. One thought was sticking out in his mind like a sore thumb. Scout quickly got out of the room, and stood out in the hall.

"Is he cheating on Ma?" Scout whispered to himself. _"He couldn't be_ ," Scout thought. " _He loves her too much, right? Right?"_ Scout tried to brush it off, but the thought lingered. The last thing he would allow Spy to do was hurt his Ma. Scout shook his head and grabbed his makeshift soup cart. There was only one other person who might have any idea what Spy said, and that man would be the Engineer.

Engineer smiled and sat up when he saw Scout walk in with soup.

"Hey there bud," Engineer said before letting out three huge sneezes. Scout smiled and handed the bowl to him before sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Hey," Scout said. "Glad to see you up and talking normally." Engineer gave him a confused look as he set the bowl in his lap.

"Was there ever a time when I wasn't talking normally?" Engineer asked. "Oh hey! It's not chicken soup this time. Thank goodness, because, you know, I was getting so tired of chicken. Not that your soup ain't good, it's just-" A large coughing fit cut him off and made a small bit of soup splash onto his blanket.

"You know French pretty well yeah?" Scout asked, trying to be nonchalant but failing miserably.

"Yeah, why?" Engineer asked bluntly.

"What does 'ca-cow-ett' mean in French?" Scout asked. Engineer sat in thought for a moment before beginning to mumble to himself. Scout could only catch the word "marshmallow", but that did nothing to help him.

"Can you tell me the context? Like, what else was in the sentence?"

"He called me 'ca-cow-ett' after I gave him soup," Scout explained.

"I am assuming that Spy is the one who called you this, yeah?" Engineer set his soup on his nightstand and looked at Scout quizzically. Scout nodded.

"He was having a fever hallucination thingy, and he called me a... whatever the word means. It's just that, with fever hallucinations, you don't really make things up. At least, not in my personal experience." Scout looked up to see Engineer completely confused. Scout sighed and continued. "When I gave Spy his soup, he called me Alice and the French word. And it worries me. Like, Alice might not exist, but what if she does? What if she's, like,... his other woman? If he's cheating on my Ma, it'll kill her, and then I'll have to kill him, and then-" Scout stopped when Engineer held up his hand for silence and let out a few ragged coughs.

"Do you honestly think Spy would cheat on your Ma?" Engineer asked. Scout hesitated before shaking his head slowly. "I don't think so either. Besides, the word either means 'peanut' or 'walnut'- I can't really remember- and neither one of those are really romantic terms. They're more... friendly? I'm not really quite sure what they are, but I'm fairly certain they aren't romantic." Scout sighed with relief before standing up.

"Thanks Engie," Scout said happily. "You really are the best."

"Of course Scout," Engineer replied. Scout gave him one last smile before exiting the room and going to give soup to the others.

After two more days of taking care of everyone and playing chess, Scout was exhausted. He stumbled into the kitchen for breakfast, and almost screamed when he saw Soldier standing in front of the stove, making eggs. Scout rushed over to him in a panic.

"What are you doing in here?" Scout exclaimed. "You're sick! And now you're gonna contaminate everything!"

"Actually, I am not sick," Soldier stated with a large grin. "I checked my temperature, and

I am down to 98.8." He dug into his pocket and pulled out an odd looking thermometer. Soldier stuck it in his mouth and crossed his arms as he waited to prove that he was well. Heavy walked in and stopped for a second when he saw Soldier.

"What are you doing?" Heavy asked tiredly.

"Solly says he's not sick, and he's taking his temp to show me," Scout replied. Heavy walked closer and glanced at the thermometer.

"Why is there rectal thermometer in your mouth?" Heavy asked, confused and a little bit grossed out. Soldier stiffened before it spitting out and running over to the sink to wash his mouth out. Scout began laughing hysterically, and Heavy even began to chuckle.

"Now that you are well," Heavy began, "you can help us take care of sick teammates."

"Affirmative!" Soldier exclaimed. "I will be the best at helping our teammates defeat this virus and get us back on the battlefield in record time!" Scout patted Soldier on the back.

"Perfect. You now get bathroom duty."

Within three more days, everyone was mostly back on their feet. Even Sniper was awake and eating solid foods which made everybody happy. Scout and Heavy got some well earned rest as the now well mercenaries were able to take care of themselves. However, Scout eventually found himself standing outside of Spy's door thanks to the little 'Alice' event that refused to leave his mins. Spy was still slightly under the weather, but not nearly as bad as he used to be. Scout gently knocked on the door and waited as the shuffling noises inside came to open it. Spy stuck his surprisingly unmasked face out. His brown and grey hair stuck out in all directions, and his stubble was longer than Scout had ever seen it. His normally piercing blue eyes were foggy with sleep, and his normal smell of cigarettes was almost gone. Scout hesitated for a moment, trying to think of the best way to ease into the question, but he felt himself tense as he blurted, "Who's Alice?" Spy stiffened before rubbing his eyes.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Spy asked.

"You called me Alice and some word that meant peanut or walnut, or something along those lines," Scout explained. "Do you know an Alice? You're not cheating on my Ma, are you? Because if you are, I'm gonna-" Spy cut him of with a string of frantic 'no's, and he placed his hands on Scout's shoulders.

"Scout," Spy stated, looking directly into Scout's eyes, "I promise you I am not cheating on your mother. The name Alice means nothing to me."

"Promise?" Scout said, giving Spy a suspicious, yet hopeful look.

"Promise," Spy replied. Scout, having been satisfied with the answer, awkwardly patted Spy on the arm and left so that Spy could get back to sleep.

When Spy closed the door behind him, he made a beeline for the bottom drawer on his dresser. He pulled the random books out and pulled the fake bottom of the drawer up. There was a small box, and inside that box was a handful of pictures. Spy only needed one. He picked up a small black and white photo of him, his sister, and his parents. Spy had gotten his father's hair, eyes, and facial structure, but his mothers body type, while his sister was the opposite. Alice had gotten his mother's blonde hair and soft brown eyes. None of this was apparent in the photo itself, but Spy knew. Spy kept his breathing level as he stared at the photo blankly.

 _"The name means nothing to me,"_ Spy repeatedly thought to himself. _"Nothing."  
-_

 _Author's note  
_ I know this is not the greatest chapter, but I liked the premise. I also like delving a little bit deeper into the other Mercs as well. I know I've been focusing on Spy a lot -and there is reason for that- but I promise that I'll cover some other backstories too. If there's anyone's story you want more than other's, let me know. I also wanted to say thank you for you taking the time to read this and for commenting! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Scout looked around at his teammates as Tom Jones's "It's not unusual" played on the record player. Everyone was in the spirit of Halloween and was dressed up in some way, save Spy, who was merely just there since everyone else forced him too. Scout was dressed up as a hot dog; it was the only costume he owned, so that was what he wore. Heavy was Frankenstein's monster while Medic was Frankenstein himself. Medic had even put a tiny witch's hat on Archimedes. Soldier was a robot, and Engineer wasn't truly dressed up as much as he was just wearing mostly black. Sniper had found a tacky pumpkin button up, and Demo had put on a kilt and currently had bagpipes that he did not know how to play. Pyro was himself and was currently finding great joy in carving pumpkins. He was mostly just destroying them with his ax, but he was happy, and no one was going to stop him.

"It's Halloween, and you're playing Tom Jones?" Spy groaned.

"We've listened to the Monster Mash like eight times Spook," Sniper said. "Let 'im play Jones. It's not gonna kill ya."

"Thank you, Snipes," Scout called. Spy just rolled his eyes and continued his conversation with Heavy in Russian. Scout couldn't understand what they were saying, but he knew the gist that they were worried about how adamant Medic was in trying to get Engineer to help him implant a brain into an inanimate object. He probably had one stashed away somewhere, and he didn't want it to go bad. He could only wonder where he even got the brain. Scout shoved the thought away and walked over to the punch bowl to grab a glass, but he stopped the when the liquid began to swirl on its own.

"Uh, hey guys?" Scout asked worriedly. "Punch ain't supposta do that on its own, right?" The others looked at the bowl, and Engineer let out a soft, "Aw, shucks," before the liquid lifted out of the bowl and exploded into green smoke.

"IT IS I MER-" Merasmus began, but the RED team groaned loudly, cutting him off.

"We've already fought you three times this month!" Sniper exclaimed with an irritated tone as he slung his Halloween themed cookie around. (Pyro had made them, and the team was surprised just how good of a baker he was.)

"Yes, but it's Halloween!" Merasmus yelled. "You can't have Halloween without me."

"What do you need this time?" Spy asked lazily. "Blood? Souls? Money? A combination of the three?"

"No!" Merasmus exclaimed. "Well, yes to the money, but who could honestly say no to that?"

"Well, what are you gonna do then?" Scout asked. "Turn us into bunnies or what?" Pyro chuckled at Scout quip and pulled his pumpkin covered ax out of its latest victim, shining it in the light as if ready for a fight.

"If you would be so kind as to _let me finish_ ," Merasmus snapped. "Yes, you are right I am here for something, and as soon as I get it, I'll be out of your hair. All I need is your fear, and then, you can have your little party." The group looked at each other for a moment before everyone burst into laughter.

"We have no fear of you Merasmus!" Soldier said as he cracked his knuckles. "We've kicked your ass before, and we don't mind doing it again."

"I'm not here to scare you myself," Merasmus explained cooly. They stopped laughing and gave each other nervous glances as new green smoke began to swirl around the room. "I believe you can do that to yourselves. FERIOUS NIGHTMARICUS!" A glowing ball flew from his hands and struck Pyro in the chest, causing him to yelp for only a second before freezing with a slight glow around him. The ball continued through Pyro and began to hit others, making them freeze in place as well. Scout could only wince as the ball hit his chest, and everything blinked out of existence.

Scout looked up from his hands, and he felt his chest tighten as he saw the seven caskets in front of him. One belonging to each brother left and his mother. Scout's whole body went cold, and the world seemed to spin around him.

"This can't be happening," he muttered to himself as tears began to streak down his cheeks. "This can't be happening." There was a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Engineer giving him a sad look.

"I'm really sorry son," Engineer said. "No one should be going through this." Scout couldn't contain his tears, and he stood up and cried on Engineer's shoulder. Scout just knew that this was his fault. He had done something stupid, and this was the revenge. He continued to cry.

Tavish screamed as the Bombinomicon possessed both of his eyes. The world was black, but he was still conscious. The book laughed as it mocked the young seven-year-old, and he could hear rapid footsteps coming from the entryway.

"What have you done?" Merasmus yelled.

"I can't see!" Tavish screamed as he clawed at his eyes, praying that he could tear off whatever was not allowing him to see. "Please help me!"

"There's nothing I can do boy," Merasmus hissed. "This was your own doing." Tavish could only cry as he waved his arms around, hoping to touch the wizard's cloak or even the book's pedestal anything but himself and the cold tile floor. The world was black and cold, and he was completely alone.

Pyro stared at the fire and cried. The fire was hot, and it was burning him. He could see two bodies next to him. He wasn't aware that they were related to him. He also was not aware of the social stigma of having a child out of wedlock. He didn't know that the burning house around him was an attempt to clean themselves of their sins and mistakes. All he knew was that he was alone, and the fire raged on.

Heavy's heart pounded as he ran as hard as he could away from the soldiers and bombs. He struggled to keep his breathing under control and his eyes free from tears as he ran alone. He promised his dad and his family that he would keep them safe. But what had happened now? He was alone, and his mother and sisters were burning in their old house. He had failed them, and now he had to live with the consequences.

Sniper was driving far too fast down the highway, which was odd since the Aussie was normally a fairly safe driver, but at the moment, he didn't care if he lived or died. The disgust in his parent's voices and faces as they slammed the door on him kept playing on repeat in his mind. He wasn't some crazed gunman, and he wasn't a lunatic. His dad always had his thoughts out in the open, but the words coming from his mom shook his to his core. He barely noticed his speedometer needle cross the 100 mark.

Medic listened to the cattle train take him closer and closer to his demise. There was no escaping now.

Soldier wiped the blood from his nose that was dripping on his dress. His mother would kill him if she saw the dress was ruined. He would no longer be her "perfect little girl", and he would be tossed aside or almost beaten to death by his dad. It wouldn't be the first time. His brother John walked by and shoved Jane to the floor, smearing the blood onto the wall. John only gave a bark of laughter as Jane scrambled to clean it up before anyone else saw. He mentally swore as his hair stuck to the blood on his face. He felt his body go numb as his father walked up behind him.

Engineer sat alone. His room was bare, and he could still hear his dad screaming at his mother and her screaming right back. His father wanted him to build more and invent the next big thing to be their ticket out of debt. His mother wanted him to be a "normal" child. That was the issue with a child genius. His social skills were nonexistent, and his mother made sure that he knew that and how disappointed she was. Engineer hated disappointing people. She had reminded him as she took everything he had made out of his room and threw it out. He could still hear the cries of how useless he was and how their debt was his fault. He glanced at his right hand. It would never function perfectly again, and the bills were too much for almost any family to handle. It had taken just one crossed wire and a too high current. He glanced over at the scraps his mother had left behind. He wondered what would happen if that had happened to his head, and he began to build.

Spy washed his plate silently as his father screamed at Alice. Alice was crying from the first slap, and Spy could only wince as he heard the second one. His mother sat smiling blissfully on the couch as she hummed and patched his father's shirt. He had the longing thought of a neighbor coming to check on them since his father was yelling so much. He knew it was a fruitless thought. Anyone who did check on them would be charmed by his dad's two-faced ways. The man was a master of deceit and lying. He had even fooled their dear mother into making her believe that his actions were necessary to raise the best children possible. Spy could hear the dismissal for her to go to bed, and he finished washing the last plate. He took a deep breath as he turned to face his father, who had just come in the room.

"May I go to bed father?" Spy asked.

"You may," was the dismissive reply. He quickly dried his hands off before he froze. How did his father know English? A flash of green crossed Spy's mind, and he could suddenly think much clearer. Anger filled Spy's chest as he realized what was going on. None of this was real. This was all just a spell, and more than likely the only way to break that spell was facing your fears. Spy could feel his hands shake as he reached for a knife. His father's back was turned as he inspected the dishes to make sure they were to his standards, and Spy's instincts took over. The blade severed his father's spine in an instant, and Spy felt himself change from his puny ten-year-old body to his current self. He sneered as the blood ran out on the floor. It was cleaner than the first time he had done it to him.

Spy's eyes snapped open, and he looked around to see that he was on the floor and the only one awake. His teammates were still frozen and glowing in the spell, but Merasmus was nowhere to be found. A slip of paper sat in the now empty punch bowl, and Spy picked it up to read Merasmus's neat scroll.

 _"To whoever wakes up first,_

 _I would strongly suggest helping your colleagues wake up. The spell was far stronger than anticipated, but my machine is raring to go! Happy Halloween!_

 _Merasmus_

Spy crumpled the paper in his fist and sighed. Why did he have to be the one to fix things?He turned and gently set his hand on Scout's shoulder, and in an instant, he found himself standing in the middle of a cemetery. He turned around to find seven fresh graves and Scout gently placing flowers at the headstone of each one.

"Scout!" Spy called as he walked towards the younger man. Scout turned around, and Spy could see how red and puffy his eyes were. Scout scowled and marched over to Spy with his fists clenched and his jaw set.

"Where the hell were you?" Scout demanded as he grabbed ahold of the front of Spy's suit. Spy tried to shove Scout off of him, but Scout was much stronger than most gave him credit for. "The funeral was hours ago, and you just now decide to show up? You didn't even change!"

"Scout, listen to me!" Spy pleaded. "None of this is real. This is just an illusion set up by Merasmus. Remember?" Scout thought for a moment before he slowly relaxed and let go of his suit.

"It's not real', Scout muttered to himself. He turned to the gravestones and smiled. "It's not real! They're alive!" Scout let out a whoop of joy, and Spy let out the breath he had been holding. "So how do we get out of here?"

"You have to face your fears it seems," Spy replied. "Although, I'm not quite sure-" Spy stopped mid-sentence as Scout ran over to the not-yet-covered-graves and threw open the top of one of them. There was a slight yelp of surprise from Scout before Spy found himself standing back in the main area of the base.

Scout was crumpled on the ground, and Spy figured that's why he himself had been on the ground when he woke. He glanced at the clock. So far, four hours had passed since Merasmus's first arrival. He took a deep breath and walked to the next closest member.

Heavy could barely breathe as his tormentors came closer and closer to his hiding space. He had been running for so long, but there was nowhere else he could go. He jumped as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he instinctively swung at its owner. Spy sidestepped the swing and held his hands up in surrender.

"Heavy, it's me," Spy said. Heavy stared at him before relaxing and shaking his head.

"It's not real, is it?" Heavy asked after a moment. "You would not be here if it were." Spy nodded.

"Merasmus put us in our 'worst fears' as it were," Spy explained. "All we need to do to get out of here is to face it head-on. Afterward, you will more than likely pass out, but there's nothing that can be done about that." Heavy grinned as he looked towards the men that were looking for him. They looked straight at him and began to charge. With a loud cry, Heavy ran forward, taking all the bullets with ease. As soon as his fist collided with the first man, he too was knocked out of his stupor, and Spy headed to help the next teammate.

He was in a large library. Well, Spy assumed it was a library; the lights were so dim, he could barely see. He heard soft sobbing and the sound of something or someone shifting around.

"Please, help me," came a young Scottish voice. "I can't see." Spy towards the end of the shelves to see a large open area with an empty pedestal and the owner of the voice on the floor.

"Demo?" Spy asked. He was fairly sure the young boy was Demo. After all, he had been ten in his fear. Why wouldn't Demo? The boy's head snapped up at the sound of Spy's voice.

"Who's there?" he demanded. "Can you help me? I can't see, and the wizard left me." Spy walked over and helped the boy stand up, and he noticed how both of Demo's eyes were a grey-green color. His fear was becoming totally blind.

"Demo, listen," Spy began. He was already tired of saying the same thing over and over, but he was keeping tabs on everyone's fears for future reference.

"Spy? Is that you?"

"Yes," Spy said. Demo let out a shaky laugh before tightening his grip on Spy's arms.

"Tell me this isn't real," Demo pleaded as he began to tear up. "Tell me I can see, that I'm not blind."

"Actually, that's exactly what I came to do," Spy explained. "Merasmus put a spell on us to make us live out worst fears."

"I'm assuming that somehow you're the only one able to help us?"

"At the moment, yes."

"Of course _you_ would be the one tah see our fears," Demo said darkly. "Who helped you out of yours?"

"No one," Spy replied. "I'm hoping that others will be able to get out of theirs on their own, but so far, that hasn't been my luck." Demo only grunted in response as he rubbed his eyes, and he looked up at Spy with his one good brown eye.

"I'm not sure if I enjoy the thought of you having to help everyone for once or hate the idea that you're just gonna get more dirt on us for later," Demo muttered. Spy ignored it and waited to wake up in the base again. When he did, he headed over to Sniper.

Sniper yelled and slammed on the breaks as soon as Spy appeared, and the sudden breaking made Spy slide forward and slam his face on the dashboard and crumple in the floorboard. Spy let out a series of swears as he struggled to get back in the passenger seat, his nose bleeding profusely.

"How the bloody hell did you get in my car?" Sniper yelled. "Have you been here the whole time?"

" _Non_ , Bushman," Spy groaned. "I just got here." Sniper sputtered a bit more, unable to get another sentence out. "Sniper, this is an illusion set up by Merasmus." Sniper sat there for a moment, trying to comprehend what was just said.

"So, none of this exists?" Sniper asked. Spy shook his head, and attempted to will his bloody nose away, which surprisingly worked.

"So your worst fear is driving?" Spy asked. Sniper chuckled.

"Naw, but I ain't tellin' you what happened." Spy kept his disappointment to himself and opened his mouth to speak, but he quickly shut it when Sniper slammed his foot on the gas.

" _Mon dieu,_ what are you doing? Spy yelled as Sniper yanked the wheel and went off the road.

"I'm driving off a cliff."

"Why on earth are you doing that?!" Spy struggled to keep himself in his seat as the van jerked around violently.

"Why not?" Sniper replied. "It's not real."

"You are crazy!" Both men began to yell, one in fear and one in adrenaline, as they found the van sailing off the side of the cliff.

Spy was still yelling as he fell backward, away from Sniper's unconscious body. He clutched his heart as he sat on the ground and looked around to make sure nobody else saw that. Once he concluded he really was alone, he counted how many people he had left. Pyro, Engineer, Medic, and Soldier. He looked at the clock again. Two more hours had passed, and it was now two in the morning.

Spy sighed and touched Soldier's shoulder, and the world faded around him.

Spy looked around and frowned. He was in a small house, and a man, woman, and teen were sitting in the living room. They were reading or listening to the radio. Spy frowned. The house was nice, and the people looked alright, but the teen didn't really resemble Soldier. He saw a hall and began walking down it since he was getting nowhere just standing there. He stopped when he saw a cracked door. He could see pink, and he could here someone wincing in pain. He pushed the door open, and he saw a little girl bandaging her wrist that was swelling badly.

"Are you alright?" Spy asked cautiously. The girl snapped her head around to reveal that it wasn't a girl at all. It was Soldier. Spy couldn't speak.

"Don't look at me," Soldier said quietly. "I don't need you or anyone else seeing me like this."

"Why..." Spy began, searching for words. "Your hair, the dress, the pink room... I don't understand."

"My mother wanted a girl," Soldier explained. "They made sure they got one." Spy was in shock.

"So Jane-"

"Was my mother's choice," Soldier said, cutting Spy off. "She wanted a son named John and a girl named Jane." Soldier continued wrapping his wrist for a moment before freezing. He spun around to face Spy.

"How the hell are you here?" Soldier demanded.

"Merasmus-"

"I bet it was Merasmus," Soldier said. "I bet he put some magic spell on us."

"Well, actually-"

"Well his spells are no match for me!" Soldier exclaimed. "I'm gonna break out of here, and when I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he had never even thought of trying to put a spell on me!" Spy merely stepped out of the way as Soldier let out a war cry and ran down the hall towards who Spy presumed was the rest of his family.

Engineer was next. Spy watched as the Engineer put together a heap of wires and a few pieces of metal together. There was a brace on his right hand, and Spy could tell he was struggling t get by using one hand. A piece fell to the ground, and Spy picked it up for him. Engineer jumped when he saw Spy, but he could tell that Engineer recognized him.

"What are you doin' here Spy?" he asked angrily.

"Attempting to help you," Spy replied. "Merasmus put a spell on us and-"

"I know," Engineer said bluntly, cutting Spy off.

"Then why are you still here?" Spy asked with an irritated tone. Engineer said nothing, but he continued to build for a few more minutes before he put two wires together that made a large spark.

"I'm building something," Engineer stated as he picked up the wires. "And I can't die, so I thought I'd try something out." Spy did nothing as he watched him stick the wires in his mouth and electrocute himself to death.

When Spy touched Pyro, he saw a burning thatch house, and he could hear a young child crying. Spy wondered how many of these "worst fears" were just amplified bad memories. He walked closer to the house, and the heat stung his skin.

"It's fake," Spy muttered repeatedly. "It can't hurt me if it's fake." Sure enough, the fire no longer hurt him, and he was able to step into the house without being burned. However, the smoke inside was heavy, and he struggled to see anything. The cries got louder, and he could see the bodies of two dead adults and a crying child. The smoke obscured his face, but Spy knew that that had to be Pyro. "Pyro," Spy said, reaching out a hand. "Look, the fire's not hurting me. It won't hurt you if you don't let it." Spy wasn't sure how to talk to Pyro, especially in this state. Was he being too condescending or simple? That didn't seem to be the case as the kid slowly stuck his hand into the flame, and he giggled when he realized he was safe. Before Spy could say anything else, the child leaped into the flames, and Spy woke up.

The clock said 1:30 in the morning and Spy shoved a cookie in his mouth to sedate his newfound hunger. He was tired, and he really didn't actually care about getting the "dirt" on everyone as Demo had put it. He had already read some of the things in their files, and others he could have figured it out on his own. He heard gentle snoring, and he turned to find Scout no longer passed out but merely sleeping. He inwardly groaned and walked to Medic, who was the last person in his own personal hell.

Spy was on a train. It was dark, and he was surrounded by a large group of people, but he knew he was on a train. He also didn't have his mask on, which was odd. None of the other's fears had removed his mask. He also noticed that the others seemed aware of him, and he had a green patch on his suit. He couldn't make out what it said, but he could tell the patch was a triangle. His stomach dropped. He hadn't read about this in any of Medic's files. The immediate thought of Medic in a Nazi outfit flashed in his mind. Could he be a doctor here? Is this how he lost his license? He looked around and thought about how this was the most real one yet, and the train began to stop. The doors were pulled open, and they were yelled at to get out and to get in lines. He could see better now, and he could see the "F" on his triangle. The green triangle meant common criminal, and the "F" stood for French. He looked around for Medic but couldn't find him. A large sign that read "Buchenwald" stood over the entrance.

"Medic?" Spy called. As soon as he spoke, a guard hit him with the butt of his gun and sharply told him to shut up and keep moving. "Ludwig?" Spy asked this time, but softer. A few heads turned at the name, but none of them the one he wanted. Spy desperately tried to think back to Medic's files and remember if he had any aliases. The line separated into male and female.

"Jan-Wolfgang?" Spy asked. Three heads turned to him, and Spy made eye contact with a younger Medic. He looked to be about young teens or early twenties, and he had a black triangle on his shirt. Black triangles meant Roma or any other German that was considered undesirable or asocial. He pushed his way up the line and stood next to Medic.

"Medic," Spy hissed. "You need to wake up. This is a spell created by-" He was cut off by another guard hitting him to push him along. The group flinched as a gunshot rang out, and they turned to see an elderly man dead on the ground. The guards yelled at them to keep moving.

" _I don't know what you're saying_ ," Medic said in German. Spy frowned. He was semi-fluent in most major languages, but at the moment, everything was a bit fuzzy.

" _What if I told you this wasn't real?"_ Spy asked. Medic let out a quiet yet angry bark of laughter.

 _"Then you are crazy and an idiot,"_ Medic replied. _"Look around you, and tell me this isn't real."_

 _"It's not real,"_ Spy said again. _"You have lived this I'm sure, but this at this very moment is not real. It's an illusion. You can wake up from this illusion at any time by facing your fear."_

 _"Facing my fear?"_ Medic asked.

 _"Are you scared of dying Ludwig?"_ Spy asked, looking Medic in the eye. Medic didn't answer but remained silent until he gave his age to a guard who asked and sent him in one direction. Spy followed. There was a sudden commotion as a guard attacked one of the people, and Spy looked at Medic. Medic stared back, and there for an instant, there was a moment of understanding. Spy smirked as he watched Medic take off out of line and tackle a Nazi to the ground.

Once everyone in was awake thanks to some smelling salts Medic had, everyone stood around awkwardly, yet with a sense of disdain for Spy. Spy rubbed his face tiredly as everyone grouped around him; his mask was off, and he could tell the others were confused. He wasn't going to tell them the mask felt too tight after he woke up from Medic's nightmare.

"You better not use any of this against us," Soldier said as he scowled. Spy stopped rubbing his face and looked up to see that most of the others appeared to share the same thought. Rage bubbled in Spy's chest, and he had no more energy left to stop it.

"You think I _wanted_ to go through that?" Spy spat as he stood up. "You think I wanted to live out each and every one of your personal hells?" the group backed up as they saw Spy begin to blow up. "I stayed up for hours trying to get you guys out of there so you weren't stuck there for forever, because it seemed only one of you was ab;e to get on your own beside me! If I hadn't have helped and left you guys here to fend for yourself, I would have never heard the end of it! You all would call me selfish! Besides, I would never need this information. I wouldn't need to blackmail you with your worst fear because I have enough information on you just from the files anyone can RED gives us." Spy stopped and took a deep breath. He had said way too much, and he needed to stop. He scowled and shoved his mask into his pocket. "I'm going to bed," growled as he walked off, grabbing the plate of cookies as he left and stuffing one in his mouth. The rest of the team stared at him as he left before they headed, one by one, to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! Sorry for the break. My computer broke, and I had to get it fixed. This meant I lost all progress on all the pre-done chapters I had written. I'll be sure to work hard on getting back to a semi-normal update schedule! Thanks again for reading (and waiting), and reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!

* * *

Scout looked over at Spy who was reading a book at the moment. He wasn't wearing his mask, and it was honestly weirding Scout out a little bit. There were slight tan lines around his mouth and eyes from the mask, but they had faded out with the lack of sun they had been receiving the last few weeks with winter taking full force. Right now, the two mercenaries were sitting next to each other on a plane in first class; Spy refused to go anything less than first class. They were on their way to Brooklyn for the holidays, but Spy was going more for Scout's ma than anything else.

"You've been staring at me for the whole trip," Spy said tiredly. "Don't you have anything better to look at?"

"Sorry man," Scout replied. "It's just-"

"The lack of a mask," Spy sighed. "I get it. Sniper did the same thing last mission." Scout opened his mouth to ask questions about the mission, but a voice rang through the plane announcing that they would be landing soon. Scout settled back and put his seatbelt on. He knew Spy wouldn't answer his questions anyway.

Once they landed, they walked out to see one of his brothers waving wildly at them.

"Percy!" Scout exclaimed as he shoved past Spy and rushed over to his brother. The two embraced before Percy put him in a headlock. Spy rolled his eyes, but he allowed a soft smile to show. It was the holidays after all.

"Hello Percy," Spy said.

"Oh hey Mister," Percy replied, not letting go of Scout.

"You do know you don't have to call me that, right?" Spy asked. Scout shoved Percy off of him and grinned.

"Yeah, just call him Frenchie. That's what I do." Percy just rolled his eyes and picked up Scout's duffle bag.

"Yeah, but that's what you call him, and we ain't on a first name basis."

"You can call me Pierre," Spy said as he grabbed his bags. "That is what everyone else calls me."

"I know," Percy replied' "but 'Mister' fits you. It's kinda fancy." Scout laughed as the three walked out of the building and towards Percy's car.

"Fancy's one way to describe him," Scout chuckled. "Granted, not the first word that comes to mind, but it's something I guess." Spy closed the trunk and gave Scout a warning glare. Scout ignored it and rushed to the passenger seat.

When they pulled up to the large house, Scout was practically vibrating in his seat. He felt like he hadn't seen his ma in so long. In fact, the last time he had seen her was... the funeral. Scout felt a pit in his stomach as he thought about Jacob. This was gonna be the first Smissmas without him. Scout forced the thought away and rushed out the car as soon as they stopped. He ignored Spy calling at him to grab his bag and walked in the house to be greeted with a warmth that was in great contrast to the layer of snow outside.

"Ma?" Scout called. "We're here!"

"Jeremy!" his mother called as she walked out from the kitchen. She grabbed him in a hug and began pecking his cheeks, leaving behind a slight tint from her lipstick. Spy and Percy walked in with the bags that Scout had so kindly left them to grab. Scout's ma let go of Scout and went over to Spy who hugged her and gave her a kiss.

"Pleasure to see you again Marie," Spy said as he smiled.

"You too Pierre." The two boys next to them let out a series of gagging noise, and Marie playfully whacked them both in the shoulder. "Your brothers are in the kitchen helping with dinner, and you should go help them.

"I just get home, and you're already trying to get rid of me," Scout said melodramatically.

"Aw hush up and help us in here!" Scout turned to see his brother William in the doorway of the kitchen. He was covered in flour and some sort of sauce was flecked all over his shirt.

"Coming!"

After dinner was made and eaten, everyone including the children and wives of the brothers were sitting in the living room talking. However, Spy found himself staring at Scout. He was so used to hearing the boy babble on about anything and everything, but here, he was silent. The few times he had made any effort to join the conversation, he had been quickly cut off or drowned out by other voices. Marie was talking about the boys play fighting and almost breaking their TV when one of Scout's brothers, Micheal, suddenly grabbed Scout and pulled him into a headlock. Scout quickly pulled himself out of it and reversed the roles with his brother tapping out a few seconds later. Micheal rubbed his neck and laughed.

"Geez, construction work has done you well. You're actually kinda strong."

"Constr- Oh!" Scout exclaimed. "Yeah, construction work can do that for ya." Spy had almost forgotten about the lie Scout had told his brothers in order to keep the fact he was a mercenary a secret. His mother knew of course, but Scout insisted on his brothers not knowing.

One of the children, Spy had lost track of what child was who's, looked up at the large family picture that hung on the living room wall.

"Where's Uncle Jacob?" the little boy asked. The room fell silent. Spy looked around to see that most everyone looked like the wind had been knocked out of them, and he saw Scout unconsciously reach for his dog tags.

"Uncle Jacob isn't gonna be here," the child's mother explained. The boy seemed satisfied with the answer and went back to his toys with the other kids. Spy felt Marie's grip on his hand tighten as she forced herself to keep her composure. He had almost forgotten about the missing brother. Slowly, the conversation picked back up, but it was just a little bit quieter and less lively.

That night, before he went to bed, Spy placed his hand on Scout's shoulder. They locked eyes, and there was a moment of understanding between the two. No words were said, but Scout knew the consolation that took place.

The next day, the large family piled in multiple cars and headed over to an ice skating rink. Spy sighed as he looked over the beat up rental skates in his hands.

"Must I do this?" he asked Marie who was eagerly lacing up her skates.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, mildly offended. "Ice skatin' is a family Smissmas tradition! Normally there's a private pond we go to, but it didn't freeze as well as it normally does. Now hurry up!"

Off the ice, Spy was smooth and graceful. On the ice was a whole different story. He hated how he was almost 100 percent dependent on the wall, but he could barely stand without it. Marie stood next to him to help guide him, but he couldn't help but feel shame as he watched children skate by him with no issue. Scout skated over to check in from time to time; Spy couldn't tell if he was genuinely checking up on him or silently mocking him as he raced away with ease. After a bit, he was able to hold onto Marie, and they slowly skated around.

"Glad to see ya off the wall fancy pants!" Scout called as he skated backward next to them. "I thought you'd never get out here." Spy would have had a snappy remark, but at the moment, he was too preoccupied with trying not to fall.

"Jeremy, be nice!" Marie scolded.

"Aw come on Ma!" Scout whined. "I'm just messin' around. Kinda." Spy tried to turn to say something, but he almost lost his balance, and Scout's skate clipped his skate. In an instant, all three fell down in a clump. Scout and his mom couldn't stop laughing as they attempted to help Spy up, but he was ready to be done.

"Marie, why don't you skate?" he asked as he struggled to stand. "I can watch from the sidelines."

"Oh all right," Marie said as they managed to pull him into a standing position. Scout and Marie skated over to the edge of the rink and helped Spy off. As Scout waited for his mom, he heard a man behind him begin to laugh with his buddies.

"Looks like Marie found herself another guy to sleep with tonight." Scout tensed as he listened.

"You think after eight kids you'd think she'd stop."

"Or at least figure out what a condom is." Scout's fists clenched, but before he could turn to confront the men, his mom put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't," she pleaded quietly. "I don't want trouble and it ain't worth it." Scout stood frozen for a moment before slowly relaxing slightly. She grabbed his hand and the two skated around until they found the rest of Scout's brothers, but the insults stayed in Scout's mind.

After a few hours of skating, the family slowly started to head home. Soon, only Scout, Marie, Spy, and three of Scout's brothers were left. As they headed towards the two cars left, Scout noticed something sitting on the windshield of his mom's car. He picked it up, and immediately he felt his blood begin to boil. It was a condom, and the laughter from behind them gave the culprits away. Scout threw it on the ground and began to walk over to the laughing group.

"Scout," Spy warned as he grabbed Scout's shoulder, but Scout shoved his hand away.

"I bet you think you're pretty funny huh," Scout spat. The three men turned to look at him.

"Yeah," the biggest of the three said. "What are you gonna do about it?" Scout could hear Spy calling him, but he ignored it as he threw the first punch.

Spy and Scout's brothers ran over to the fight as fast as they could, but Scout was already on top of the biggest man and pummeling his face in. The two other men attempted to get Scout off of him, but they were no match for his strength and speed. Soon, both men were holding bloodied noses, and the man beneath Scout was almost unrecognizable from all the blood. Scout could hear the blood rushing through his ears, and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Hands grabbed him from behind, but he easily shoved them off. Two pairs of hands wrapped around him and two more pushed him off. As snow hit Scout's face, the world came rushing back to him. His brother's and mother was yelling at him, and he could hear sounds of pain from the group he had just fought. His face stung, and he could feel blood trickling from his nose and lips. He wasn't sure if it was his.

The two men dragged their bloodied and injured friend away from the group and out of sight.

"Jeremy, what the hell were you thinking?"

"What the hell got into you?"

"What happened?" His brother's voices were overlapping, and he struggled to form a comprehensible sentence.

"Jeremy!" His mother yelled as she pushed through the boys. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah ma," Jeremy said weekly as he wiped away blood. "I'm fine." She was crying. He felt guilt and shame rise up in him as she wiped away tears. He felt a firm grip on his shoulders.

"I need to speak with you alone," Spy stated. Scout could see anger smoldering in his normally emotionless eyes. The group looked at one another awkwardly before they decided to let Spy and Scout ride back to the house separately.

As Scout closed the door, he braced himself for yelling or some sort of an attack, but Spy stared straight ahead as he drove away. As they drove in silence, Scout rummaged in the console and glove box for napkins to wipe away the blood. They soon stopped in an empty parking lot.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Spy snapped as he quickly swiveled in his seat.

"What do ya mean?" Scout snapped back. "I was takin' care of those assholes!" Spy slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

"Jeremy, you can't fight people like that!"

"Why not?" Spy buried his face in his hands and spit out rapid French as he tried not to completely explode.

"First off, your brothers are going to find out your lie," Spy said angrily. "Second off, you were lucky no one else was out there to see you. Third, your mother told you not to. Fourth-"

"I was trying to defend her!" Scout shouted. "You heard what-"

" I did hear what they said!" Spy interrupted. "But what happens if they try to hurt her now?" Scout stared at him with confusion and anger. "Once we leave, no one is there to protect her from those guys, and I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to get payback by hurting her since they know you care about her so much!"

"They're cowards," Scout said defensively. "They wouldn't touch her."

"Do you know that for a fact?" Scout hesitated as he tried to think. Both men sat in silence as they tried to catch their breath and thoughts. Scout stared at his lap as he wiped away more blood.

"What would Jacob say about this Jeremy?" Spy asked. Before he could speak again, Scout roughly grabbed him by the shirt collar and shook him.

"Don't you _dare_ say his fucking name!" Scout screamed in Spy's face. "And don't you _ever_ call me Jeremy! Only blood's allowed to call me that, ya hear?" Spy stared defiantly at Scout for a few seconds before Scout released him. The two settled back in their seats and sat in near silence for a few minutes with the only noise being Scout's slight sniffing. Blood mingled with tears faster than he could wipe it away.

"Let's get you home and cleaned up," Spy said after a bit. Scout only nodded and he buckled back up.

Once they got home, the two sat still with neither one making a move to leave the car.

"Learn to pick your battles wisely Scout," Spy said, pulling the key out of the ignition. He got out and let Scout sit in the car for a few more minutes. Soon, Scout went inside.

As he cleaned himself up with the first aid kit his mother gave him, he could hear the rest of the others talking about him and how abnormal this was for him. He had never lost his cool that fast, and he had never been the best at fist fights. Sure he had learned to get to the fight before the rest of them, but that didn't mean he knew how to fight well. In fact, he often got his butt kicked the most. Scout looked at himself in the mirror. He knew he had screwed up.


	9. Chapter 9

Heyo everyone. I hit writer's block after I uploaded the last chapter, and nothing I wrote was good. So, I decided to take a break. While in that break, I forgot about my story for a few months, but I now know where I want the story to go. So hopefully I can write more, but college is coming up so :). Sorry about the wait, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because everything is about to go to hell.

* * *

Scout put on his heavy winter jacket and opened the front door to see heavy snow. He took a deep breath and felt the harsh sting of the cold air and smiled. He loved the Coldfront base. After the Tuefort base was partially destroyed by a certain bread monster, they had been moved to the Coldfront base for the time being. His attempt to go on a date with Pauling had ultimately failed, and she was genuinely pissed at him, so getting away for a while was a good thing. He also now could do one of his favorite things: snowmobiling. He happily jumped on the one mobile they had left and took off. They had had two at one point, but Soldier had lost the second one. He was getting one last drive-in before a storm was supposed to hit that night. Driving around was the best for him to clear his mind, especially just after a hard battle. He loved the feeling on the sharp wind whipping his clothes around. It reminded him of home during the winter. The thought of the fight at the skating rink popped up, and he went faster on the bike. He still felt so stupid about that fight. He had called his mom continuously to check up on her to make sure they hadn't done anything else, but she had assured him that everything was fine. His speed kept rising until something caught his eye. He slammed on the breaks and whipped around to a stop. Scout quickly hopped off and waded through the snow. He wiped snow away from the lump and let out a little cheer when he realized what it was. It was the missing snowmobile! He quickly attempted to dig it out, but soon found out he needed help. Besides, he couldn't drive both of them back, but he needed to hurry before the storm came and buried it again. He might also need some gas. He quickly jumped back on his snowmobile and sped back to the base.

* * *

When he got to base, he found that everyone was busy. The only people that weren't busy were Soldier, Sniper, and Spy. Scout didn't trust Soldier to drive again since he was the one that lost it the first time, and Scout knew Sniper _hated_ snow and that there was no way he could get his help. That left Spy. He really didn't want to, but if he wanted the other mobile, he needed Spy's help. He knocked on his door.

"Hey, Spy, it's Scout," Scout said to the door. "I need your help really fast." A few seconds later, and\ annoyed Spy opened the door. "Can you come with me to get the second snow ski? I found it, but I need help getting it here."

"Can't you pick someone else?"

"Everyone else is busy," Scout explained. "Come on Spy! It would great to have for when the next supply drop comes in." Spy looked hesitant.

"Can't you wait for someone else?"

"Nope. Storms coming in, and if we don't get it now, we'll lose it. I've already got gas, so all you have to do is help me pull it out and drive it up here with me. It won't take too long." Spy didn't say anything but instead looked nervous. "Are you really not gonna help me?"

"Scout, have you ever paid attention to the fact that I've never been one to drive the mobiles up to get our supplies?" Scout gave him a confused look. Spy sighed when he realized he didn't get it.

"I've never driven one, "Spy admitted after a few more seconds.

"Oh!" Scout said when it clicked. "Don't worry about that! We can go slow as long as we get it up here. It's easy. Throw on a coat and boots and meet me outside!" Scout left Spy at the door, but Spy knew that if he didn't go, he'd never hear the end of it, so he got ready and walked out to Scout.

* * *

Scout flew down the mountain with Spy on the back of his mobile. Spy was squeezing Scout's torso with all he had, and Scout was kinda having trouble breathing. When he pulled up to where the other mobile was, Spy hopped off as fast as he could.

"Did you not hear me yelling at you to slow down?" Spy yelled.

"Not really," Scout lied. "It's hard to hear over the wind." Spy muttered something in French, but Scout couldn't understand so he ignored it. They pulled the mobile out and put gas in it, and Scout gave Spy a rundown of how to drive it. When Spy seemed to understand, Scout took off at a moderate space. He glanced behind him after a second to find Spy was way far behind. He whipped around and pulled next to Spy who was puttering along at a few miles an hour.

"If you twist the-" Scout began, but Spy cut him off.

"I know how to go faster."

"Then why don't you?" The stubborn look on Spy's face told him he either didn't want to go faster or he was too scared to. So, Scout pulled up next to him and slowed down enough to match his speed. They rode in silence for a few minutes before Scout couldn't take it anymore.

"Soooo," Scout said. "Wanna, uh, tell me a fun fact about yourself?" Scouty winced as soon as he said it. He knew that was dumb.

"Fun fact?" Spy said. "What are we in primary school?"

"I'm sorry! It's just too quiet! I can't handle it much longer."

"Oh, but you couldn't hear me going down the hill?"

"I was actually going fast!" Scout exclaimed. "We could get home faster if we walked!"

"Asking me a question or starting a conversation I get but a fun fact?" Scout groaned as Spy continued.

"Fine then tell me about France or what food you like," Scout said. Spy gave him a slightly suspicious look.

"Why do you want to learn more about me? Why don't you just speak?"

"I always talk. Besides, I know virtually nothing about you, and there's nothing that can be held against you with the questions I asked." Neither one spoke for a minute.

"I love braised duck," Spy eventually said. "I still haven't found a place in America that can make it as good as home."

"You eat duck?" Spy laughed at Scout's question.

"I figured that after knowing about escargot, you would accept duck."

"Oh yeah I forgot you freaks eat snails," Scout said with a playful tone. Spy went a bit faster and Scout matched his speed. "So do you miss it? France I mean."

"I do," Spy said. "I haven't been there in years, but I plan to go there with Marie eventually."

"Ma would love that." The two talked for a while longer until they reached the base. As they hopped off the snowmobiles, the wind began to pick up.

"That's our cue," Scout said as he zipped up his coat a little more. "Oh and Spy?" Spy stopped and turned towards Scout. "Thanks for talkin'."

"Of course."

Scout began to think about how he had seen some new sides to Spy recently. Maybe, just maybe, Spy was a little bit better of a person than he had initially thought.


End file.
